The consumer price index for October has shown a 0.9% increase in retail prices, resulting primarily from a rise in the food group by 1%, and outside this group there were also price increases in such sub-categories as kero oil, domestic gas, rent and maintenance, the Bureau of Statistics has said.
A release from the bureau stated that the consumer items monitored in the Urban (Georgetown) Consumer Price Index (CPI) basket of goods and services recorded an upward movement in prices, which was "reflected in an increase in the price index value from 173.6 in September to 175.2 in October this year."
According to the bureau, resulting from this increase in the index value, a 0.9% increase in retail prices was observed for October 2002 and a 5.9% year-to-date inflation rate.
On an annual basis, comparing October 2001 to October 2002, the Georgetown index rose by 6.6%, the release stated.
For the month of October 2002, the bureau informed, retail prices resulted primarily from an increase in the food group by 1%.
This increase resulted from upward price movements in the sub-categories cereals and cereal products by 5%, pulses and pulse products by 1.6%, meat, fish and eggs by 0.9%, milk and milk products by 0.2%, fruits and fruit products by 1.2%, alcoholic beverages by 0.3%, non-alcoholic beverages by 0.7% and tobacco and tobacco products by 0.1%. However, there were counterbalancing declines in the sub-categories condiments and spices by 5.2%, and vegetables and vegetable products by 1.1%.
Additionally, there were increases in the prices of goods and services outside of the food group. According to the bureau, the retail prices in the housing group increased by 1.7% of which sub-categories fuel and power (kero oil and domestic gas) rose by 4.4% and rent and maintenance by 0.2%. There was also an increase in the transport and communication group by 0.6% of which sub-categories operations of personal transport and purchased transport services rose by 3% and 0.3% respectively. These increases, the bureau noted, were counterbalanced by declines in the educational, recreational and cultural services group and the furniture group by 0.7% and 0.1% respectively.